The Walking Dead: Reprisal
by Skyler DeToris
Summary: The world she knew was gone. Keiko Watanabe (forced on her own by the death of her family) is out to seek her only surviving friend, and those responsible for the virus. Smart, skilled, manipulative, and dangerous, she goes through her new life doing whatever it takes to survive. [The story goes with the show. Starting around the "Save the Last One" episode and goes from there.]
1. Chapter 1 - The Airport

Hey everyone! Welcome to The Walking Dead: Reprisal. I hope you enjoy the ride. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope the lot of you enjoy it just as much. Now, because I want you all to have maximum comfort and enjoyment, I will give you a few warnings ahead of time:  
1. There will be triggering subjects in this story: Violence, Blood, Gore (all that good zombie stuff), but please note that **a portion in here is the subject of rape and child abuse and molestation.** On that note, please know that** I won't get super descriptive/graphic on the subjects of rape, child abuse, etc.** (if anything it's mild-moderate, but NEVER severe.) But as the reader i feel you should know regardless that they are there. So **if any of those subjects make you feel really uncomfortable or it triggers you, then I wouldn't suggest reading this.**

AND THAT IS ALL.  
Enjoy, my little darlings. xx

* * *

**_The virus has completely devastated over 150 of the world's major regions and is spreading rapidly. At this point in time we know of only one method of killing the creatures: destroy the brain. Be on the guard of any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact with the infected. And if you find yourself out in a threatening position, please do not hesitate to act. _**

**_Again. This is not a test. _**

**_This is not a joke. Be on the guard of any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact with the infected.  
Stay safe, and God bless…_**

Chapter 1: The Airport

_"Furaito A 2907 ga okurete iru. Wareware wa nani ga okotte iru ka haaku suru made omachikudasai…"_

"What'd they say?" Miho asked, her tiny hand gripping onto the hem of her big sister's skirt. Kei looked up at the flight board in worry. Their flight to Japan had been delayed, and no one knew the reason why. Her eyes traveled up and down and read the same thing repeatedly: Delayed. No planes were departing, and none were arriving. Everyone was looking around and asking each other questions, but no one knew the answers. Kei turned to her mother. She was over by her dad, helping him sit their parents down in chairs while they waited.

"_Onee-chan_," Miho peeped, "What'd they say just now?"

"They said our flight had been delayed, and not to worry," She summarized, looking around as airport employees and security darted around with walkie talkies. Something wasn't right.

"Kei, Miho," Her father spoke sharply, "Come here."

Kei's mother opened up her arms and little Miho rushed over, leaping into them without hesitation. Kei stepped over to her father, getting lead a little ways away from her family so they could talk in private.

"I talked to security," He spoke quietly, "Apparently a couple guys who were infected got on a flight to Europe. They're delaying everything, and they're not letting anyone in or out of the airport."

"Well who would want to go out?" Kei scoffed, "There's tons of those things out there. That's why we're here."

"I know, I know," Her father replied lowly, "But they're not letting anyone _get on the planes_, Kei. Listen."

She watched her father's eyes wander around the airport. His eyebrows were knitted together in worry.

"Something's very wrong here," He murmured, looking back to his daughter, "We have to leave."

"Leave?" Kei spoke with wide eyes, "B-But what about our things? Our suitcases, we checked them all in alrea—"

"All of that can be replaced, Keiko," He interrupted, "Right now we have to try and leave. Something doesn't feel right."

Kei turned her head and looked over to her mother and Miho. They were playing a clapping game while their grandparents watched with light smiles. She turned back to her father, nodding her head lightly and mustering her courage.

"Where do we go?" She asked, giving him a determined look.

"The summer home," He answered, "It's our best bet for right now. Go, get yours and Miho's bag."

Kei nodded lightly and walked back towards the rest of her family. She picked up Miho's backpack and slipped it on to her shoulders. As she did so, her father walked up to her mother and explained the situation. He told her about how security was closing everyone in, and had no intention of letting any of them out any time soon. Something serious was happening here, and it wasn't good. Kei had grabbed her own bag and shouldered it when the sounds of yells and screams rang out from further ahead. The young girl looked onward and saw others rushing towards them, yelling and shouting in horror. Further back, she could see military men with guns. They pointed it at the crowd and started yelling for everyone to get in line and get in order. Kei rushed over to her mom and took hold of her arm. Her father helped her grandparents up and they started making their way with the crowd, bunching up to the very end of the airport and getting backed into the wall. Rows upon rows of military men and women had their guns pointed directly at the crowd.

"All men come forward!" A solider in front yelled, "I repeat, ALL MEN COME FORWARD."

Many men young and old came forward with their hands up in defense. Her father however, being as little as he was, managed to sneak his way behind Kei. Right at this moment, she was thankful for being taller than him. Women started to whimper and cry, some holding their children tightly as they watched their husbands march up against the other wall. Several of them asked about what was happening, but the questions only fell on deaf ears. The soldiers still kept their guns pointed to the women.

"All women must go to the next concourse!" The soldier in front yelled, "ALL WOMEN MUST GO TO THE NEXT CONCOURSE! NO EXCEPTIONS!"

"Mommy, what's going on?" Miho asked, her voice transforming into a whine.

Kei looked to her mother. She didn't answer, she just hugged her little girl tightly and turned to walk with the crowd of women and children. Kei kept her back close to her father's front, trying her best to block him from the soldiers. Other women started to crowd around him as well, along with other men who were attempting to use their height to their advantage.

"Walkers!" A man screamed, "We've got walkers!"

All the women looked around frantically, their voices raising into frenzied high pitched screams. The soldiers started pushing them with their guns, knocking some onto the floor. Chaos ensued soon after. Within a blink of an eye they were running down the hall like a herd of cattle. Everyone kept saying "forward! Move forward!" and "don't look back!" Miho wailed into her mother's arms and gripped her tightly. Kei gripped onto her mother's hand. She looked around frantically for her father and grandparents, but all she could see were crying women and children running for dear life. She could hear bullets flying rapidly over the sound of her racing heartbeat, the screaming grew louder, and before she knew it, a sudden flash appeared, blinding her instantly.

"_**KEIKO!**_"

The girl shot open her eyes and sat up with a gasp. Her heart thumped loudly in her heaving chest. She looked around. She was alone, still alone in this long since abandoned house. She could hear rustling in the woods outside. They were growing restless. They would need food soon.

She laid her head back on the damp pillow and looked up at the dirty ceiling. She tried to close her eyes again, but memories of the airport kept flashing behind her eyelids, and the sounds of blood splattering onto the wooden floor rang in her ear. She opened her eyes again and looked to her right. Her sword laid beside her, ready and awaiting to be carried or used. She stared at her weapon, the sound of it slashing across flesh ringing in her ears. She screwed her eyes shut. She could hear their heads rolling, their lifeless bodies hitting the floor, their hushed whispers of comfort and bidding her goodbye. She turned away from her weapon sharply and sobbed into her damp blankets until dawn.

- x - x - x - x - x -

_"Where is she?" Warden Stiles asked out, approaching the office that stood on the other side of the interrogation room. A police man that looked about his early 30's trailed after her with a thick manila folder in his hands._

_"She's in the room already," Officer James T. Sandusky announced, "Officials found her in the local cemetery, sitting at her biological parents' grave."_

_Warden Stiles turned around to look at the officer, her stern brown eyes staring at him with authority._

_"And you're sure she's the one that set the fire,"_

_"She openly admitted it to us," The man answered, "Says that she was putting a stop to them hurting her and her sister."_

_Warden Stiles turned around and looked into the windowless room. A young girl with long black hair and a round face was sitting at the table. Her big dark eyes were staring intently at the metal table top before looking over to the one-way glass. The warden's eyes tore away and looked to officer Sandusky standing next to her._

_"What's her name?" She inquired. Officer Sandusky quickly opened up the file and flipped through the pages, stopping on one yellow sheet with a picture attached to it._

_"Keiko Watanabe," He answered, reading off the info inside the file, "Eight years old, came here from Japan with her parents when she was only four. Records show they ran into some money trouble and were on the verge of facing fraud charges. Both of them committed suicide in their home in Camden, New Jersey. She's been dragged around in the system ever since."_

_"Has she been Psychologically evaluated?" The warden asked. The man continued to flip through the file, reading over the it's contents carefully._

_"Last checkup was when she was 5," He answered, "She passed all the tests with flying colors actually."_

_The warden nodded and looked back to the little girl in the lonely interrogation room. She was still staring in the warden's direction, a deadpan expression plastered on her little face._

_"How's the brother?" Stiles asked, watching the little girl closely with squinted eyes._

_"Alive," Sandusky answered, looking through the one way mirror as well, "She burned the poor bastard to a crisp. Doctors haven't given word on how bad it is exactly, but judging by what the boys are saying at the hospital, it looks bad."_

_The middle aged woman chewed on the inside of her lip and furrowed. Keiko's eyes were still on her, looking directly into the glass as if she knew that the woman was on the other side. She showed no signs of trauma, no remorse, there wasn't a single tear rolling down her chubby cheeks._

_"There's something really wrong with that kid, Warden," Sandusky warned in an uneasy tone, "She hasn't cried once since we brought her here…"_

_The Warden looked to the worried Officer before looking back at little Keiko on the other side of the glass. The middle aged woman observed her closely, trying to read this her body language and figure out what her little game was. Only, there was no game. There was just a little girl who was sick of the hurt, and took it upon herself to make it stop._

_"She's had that creepy look on her face the entire time," She heard the man next to her say, "It's almost like she's…proud of it…"_

_ The woman watched and furrowed as the eight-year-old suddenly smiled at her._

- x - x - x - x - x -

_Kami wa, watashi o mamotte…  
(God, protect me)_

Kei let out a small "amen" and opened her eyes. She looked up at her family photo on the fireplace mantle. They were outside at a park in Japan, cherry blossom trees surrounding them. Their grandpa had taken the picture, his hand blocked grandma's head a little. Her mother and father were holding little Miho together, kissing her cheeks while Kei herself held up a peace sign and laughed. Those were better times, so much better. If only she could somehow go back to that.

But she couldn't. Not in this life, anyway.

The bells chimed from the doorway. Another victim had stumbled past the trip wire in front. Kei twisted her lips to the side and grabbed her sword from beside her. She got up, looked at the photo, and then turned away to head outside. It was time to take care of the little problem outside her door.

She stepped out onto the porch to find two walkers stumbling about outside the fence. The spikes on the fence had been decorated with the decapitated heads and arms of previous foes, but that didn't stop them from attempting to break through and try to get their next meal. The girl stepped onto the porch and pressed the doorbell, the gate sliding open just barely to let them both through. They hobbled forward and hissed, reaching out with their wrinkled arms and licking their rotted bloody teeth. The young girl pressed the doorbell again and the gate swung shut. She then drew out her katana and leapt off the porch, lunging for the first one and sticking her sword straight into its belly. She pulled it out and swiftly swung it around in an arc, managing to slice off its head in one clean swing.

She kicked the body down and lunged for the next one, this time swinging diagonally and slicing its head off in one go. The two bodies crumpled to the ground with a loud thud, staining the grass dark red with blood. She picked up the heads casually and stuck each one on a spike, smiling lightly at the sound of a long, drawn out howl from the woods. Two wolves darted in and out of the trees, making their way down towards the fence. Both of them leapt over, rushing up towards Kei and growling at the decapitated walkers on the ground. The flared their teeth and snarled at the bodies, their backs arched, as if waiting for the lifeless creatures to get up and move.

"It's alright, it's alright," She soothed, "I took care of it. What'd you guys get?"

The two dogs immediately loosened up and turned towards Kei with excitement, their tails wagging behind them. Ren, a beautiful brown-eyed red wolf with unusually large ears, held a dead rabbit in her mouth. Ame (pronounced ah-may), a strong looking gray wolf with gold eyes had a large tailess squirrel in his mouth. Kei smiled lightly at her companions' finds and pointed to the house. The two wolves darted inside without hesitation and made their way into the kitchen.

Kei skinned and cleaned the animals as best as she could, putting all the entrails in a bowl and setting it out for Ren and Ame to feed on. While they ate, Kei attempted to cook up bits of squirrel and rabbit over a couple canister stoves.

"We're going to have to move again, guys," She spoke, watching as her two companions continued to eat, "More of those things keep closing in, I wouldn't be surprised if we get overrun by the end of the week."

Ren looked up from the bowl and licked her lips, staring at Kei intently as she popped a bit of cooked squirrel meat into her mouth. She dipped her head back down, nudging Ame out of the way to get more food. Kei looked at the two and chuckled lightly. How is that two wolves from the north managed to wander their way around the south? How is it that they found her? They just came out of nowhere. They had managed to avoid walkers, military men burning the forests, starvation, and even the dead cold of winter. Those two weren't ordinary wolves. Wolves avoided humans, these ones went up to her, stuck loyally by her side, defended here wherever they went. They were two blessings in disguise, her guardian angels in this messed up form of hell.

She was alone. All alone in the woods, covered in fresh blood with no food, no water, and only an old sword at hand. She was sitting outside a cave near the creek, crying helplessly into her bloodied hands. She had no plan, no family, and no motivation to live on. What else was there to live for?

She had heard the water gently splash a few feet ahead of her, making her look up from her hands. That's where she saw them. Two wolves with their paws in the water, staring at her contently with their intense eyes. They didn't growl or bare their teeth. They just watched her, and waited. She wiped her eyes and watched as they cautiously made their way up to her. She froze in place as they sniffed and circled around her. When they finally stopped, the gray wolf's face was only inches from her own. They were staring at each other, eye to eye. She sniffled a little and wiped her eyes again, more blood smearing across her face. The grey wolf leaned closer, and that's when the fearful girl shut her eyes. Something warm and wet gently brushed against her eyelid. Something similar brushed up against her cheek. The wolves began to lick her face over and over, cleaning off the blood and tears staining her cheeks.

It was after their strange encounter that the wolves followed her wherever she went. She couldn't understand why, but after witnessing how useful they were, she'd be a fool as to try and send them off. They would lead walkers away with their howls and barks as she ran through the woods. They fought off other unfriendly survivors who'd try to take what's hers or harm her in any way. With their amazing sense of smell they would find food and gas, and also warn her if any walkers were nearby. They weren't just handy tools for survival anymore. They had become her friends and her family, and vice versa.

It was early morning when Kei opened up the front gate and packed up her supplies. She brought all her sleeping stuff out to the H3 Hummer. She had stolen it when her and her family made a dash out of Atlanta. Placed in the back, her family had scavenged for enough medicine to last them a long while, but it was weapons, food, and shelter that she was truly struggling on. She was pretty low on ammo, and she was running out of arrows to use for all those silent kills. None of these houses that she'd been squatting at have any working heaters, and winter was guaranteed to come no matter what.

Still, that didn't stop her from moving, from going place to place until she could find what she was truly looking for.

The young girl got into the car and shut the door with a sigh, turning her head to watch Ren and Ame hop over the fence. The two wolves made their way into the woods, disappearing behind the sea of trees and leaves. She smiled lightly and started her car, backing out and continuing her journey towards Fort Benning.


	2. Chapter 2 - Search Game

The trees rustled and whispered in the wind as a gentle breeze blew by. Kei carefully walked through the forest, her heartbeat steady, her footsteps as light and quiet as possible. The smell of dampened earth and wet leaves filled her nose as she walked on. Another gentle rush of wind came, the air feeling so cool against her skin. The leaves clattered and the trees groaned over the sound of squawking birds. She took a deep breath through her nose, the scent of water faintly resting on the breeze. A creek was nearby. She looked down at the ground, observing the shift in the leaves and the faint imprints in the dirt. An animal was near as well. It was a deer, judging by the tracks.

She prepared her bow and arrow and looked around carefully. She stepped forward, looking ahead and noticing the creek from only a few feet away. She closed her eyes. She could hear the gentle sound of water flowing, and something else. Something was treading through the water. The sounds weren't heavy like that of a walker. They were light and graceful. She smiled and opened her eyes, rushing forward and stopping behind a tree only a foot away from the bank. She poked her head out and saw the deer about 7 or 8 feet away, standing in the creek. Its little black nose was pressed against the water, simply drinking away as Kei gently pulled back the bowstring and quietly stepped out.

She held the bow up and pulled the arrow back further, pressing her string hand to the corner of her mouth. Her eyes followed the arrow as she pointed it right at the creature's neck. The deer's head perked up, ears flicking from side to side. A small crackle went off to her far right. It was light, not heavy and loud like a Walker. Probably another animal. She kept her eyes focused on the deer. She took a slow inhale and let go, the arrow whizzing forward and hitting the deer right in the neck. The animal jerked to the left, and then to the front, indicating that something else hit the animal as well. Fast footsteps sounded to her right. Not like an animal, and definitely not like a walker.

That only meant one thing: a living enemy.

Kei furrowed and put up her hood. She quickly got out another arrow and placed it on her bow as she stepped behind the tree. She peeked out from the other side and waited. She watched carefully as the deer laid on the ground, its blood flowing along with the water.

She heard rustling to her right, and suddenly a figure appeared. It was a man. He was fairly tall, muscular, wearing only dirty jeans and an equally dirty flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He held out a crossbow and kept it pointed at the deer. He clearly was a hunter, and a damn good tracker by the looks of it. He leapt down into the creek and strode over to the animal lying on the ground. She watched closely as he got one knee and shouldered his weapon. The poor deer twitched in place as the man patted its stomach and got out his hunting knife. She watched as he put the deer out of its misery, yanking out his arrow from its side, and then Kei's arrow from its neck. He stared at it for quite some time, observing its features closely.

"_Fuck_," She hissed, watching as the man looked around curiously for her. He placed the arrows in his own quiver and held up his crossbow, taking only a few steps forward and turning around in every direction.

"Who's out there?!" He called out, his raspy voice thick with a southern drawl.

Kei didn't answer. Her heart started to race slightly. She wanted this deer so badly. She was so sick of squirrel and rabbit. There was enough meat on that buck to feed Ren, Ame and herself for days, maybe even weeks. She couldn't give it up.

"Daryl! Did you get somethin'?!" Another voice called. Another male, accent thicker than the hunter's.

"Course I did," The hunter called back, "Some other bastard's been huntin' out here too. Shot the damn thing a little after I did."

"_After? Please…" _She thought to herself.

"Wait, someone else is out here?" She heard a boy relatively younger speak, "Like…a living someone?"

"Yeah," The hunter muttered, "Hey! Huntin' guy! Why don't ya come out and say hi?! Get back this arrow you dropped."

Kei didn't answer, she let her head fall against the tree and mentally swore at herself.

"No? Don't want it? Well then it's mine!" He called out, "The deer is too, much obliged!"

_Oh hell no._

Kei put her fingers to her lips and let out a high pitched whistle. She could hear the guns cocking behind her. Guns, So there were two more people with the hunter. The light and rapid beat of paws hitting against dirt and leaves grew louder and louder. Kei looked ahead and saw Ren and Ame rush past her, darting down the bank. She drew back her bow and arrow and rushed out from behind the tree. Three men stood at the center of the creek beside her kill. There was the hunter, and then a shorter man with dark eyes, a tight black shirt, and a shaved head. He looked like he was ex-military, maybe even a police officer in his old life. Either way he had an authoritative vibe about him. Next to him was a small Korean guy in a baseball cap with a shotgun in his hand. He looked terrified out of his mind, but by his stance, she could tell that he was prepared to do what he needed to do. The shorter man with the dark shirt held out a black pistol, pointing it right at her.

"Mind puttin' down yer weapon?!" He asked out, "We only came here to get some food."

Ren and Ame leapt down from the bank and bared their teeth, growling menacingly at the three men. The Korean boy quickly shifted between pointing his gun at Kei, and the red wolf eyeing him viciously. The hunter pointed his crossbow at Ame and looked back at the man with the shaved head.

"The hell did these wolves come from?!" He asked.

Kei stepped closer to them, her bow and arrow still pointed in their direction. The police man lowered his gun and held his hands out. He decided to try and use words instead.

"Listen, we don' want any trouble," He assured, "We just came here to hunt for some food. Lot of us're hungry, and my friend Daryl here's been trackin this deer for some time."

Daryl, so that's what the hunter's name was.

"Shane we ain't got time for this," The hunter argued, "Let's just put a bullet through these mutt's heads and end this!"

Kei immediately pointed her arrow in Daryl's direction. Daryl pointed his own weapon right back. The shorter man held his arms out with a "whoa whoa whoa!" and tried to get between them.

"Alright now, he didn't mean that," He urged, "We ain't here to harm you or yer uh…_friends_. We just want some food."

Kei kept her arrow pointed right at the hunter, her dark eyes fixed on his blue ones.

"M'name's Shane," The shorter guy informed while putting his hand to his chest, "The guy with the crossbow is Daryl, and the guy to my left is Glenn."

"And what's your name, huh?" Daryl asked in a scornful tone, "Hows 'bout you pull that hood down so we know who to thank fer the deer."

Again, Kei didn't answer. She just looked down at the deer, and then at the group. One arrow against 3 guns was quite a risk, Clearly, this was a situation that she wasn't going to win. If she tried grabbing for the deer, Ren and Ame would be killed. She could tolerate eating squirrel for one more day, surely.

"I asked you a question, Robin Hood!" She heard Daryl bark, "You gonna answer it!? Or we gonna be here till next Sunday!?"

"Daryl!" Shane jeered.

Ren and Ame's growling instantly ceased. They perked up beside her for only a second before barking out towards the woods. Two barks. Walkers were near.

"S'going on?" Shane asked, looking to the mysterious hooded figure for an answer. The three men noticed the wolves' strange behavior, and began to shift uncomfortably. Again, Kei never spoke a word. Instead, she put her arrow back into her quiver, shouldered her bow, and then bolted away as quick as lighting. She could hear Shane calling after her, but she didn't have time. Walkers must have picked up on the deer blood in the water, and she sure as hell wasn't going to be here when they came running for the source.

She rushed through the woods, climbing over fallen trees and leaping over large roots without faltering. Her senses went wild. The smell of wet earth filled her nose, the air filled her lungs, the wind felt cool against her sweaty face. Ren and Ame ran beside her, following her every move, encouraging her to keep running. She felt wild, alive and bursting with energy. These were one of the few moments were things felt okay for a bit.

After a few minutes of running, they finally made it back onto the highway. Several abandoned cars covered the single road, managing to be a perfect disguise for their makeshift home. Kei and the wolves rushed through the graveyard and made their way over to a Black H3 Hummer. Home Sweet Home.

She opened up the passenger seat and waited for Ren and Ame to leap inside. She leapt in last and shut the door, locking it along with all the others in the process. The two wolves attempted to bound their way to the backseat as Kei scooted over to start the car. Once she got in the driver's seat however, she noticed movement up ahead. It wasn't human movement, nor was it walker movement. It was car movement. Someone was driving an old Winnebago up ahead.

Kei stared at the vehicle in thought. Maybe it was the rest of Shane's group. Maybe that's where they were camped, and maybe his group had some extra food.

And then suddenly, a grand idea sparked in her head.

Where there was a group, there were weapons.

And where there were weapons, there was ammo.

Kei turned to the back and told Ren and Ame to stay put. She reached in back and grabbed her Katana, shouldering it along with her bow. Slowly, she made her way out of the car and through the graveyard, keeping her head low and her footsteps light. She was only 3 cars away from the RV when she heard voices. Several more voices. There were two women and two more men.

"Hopefully the deer Daryl brings back won't already have been snacked on by a walker," she heard a woman speak, "I don't know about you, but I _really_ don't want a repeat of last time."

"No guarantees there," She heard a man much older reply, "You know, it's been a while since I've seen any real animals. Cats, dogs, birds. They probably sensed the end of the world and ran out of the country."

"Or they all just got eaten," Another man mentioned.

Kei crept closer to the RV. She pressed up against the rear and made her way onto the ladder. She quietly climbed up and army crawled her way across the roof. She gently lifted a piece of the hood up and looked down into the bathroom. The screen that would have blocked her way in had already been ripped open. All that was left was the fan. She reached down and gently lifted it upwards, trying her best not to make too much noise or move enough for someone to notice. Once she removed the fan, she gently slid it to her side and started making her way in. She turned over and slid in carefully feet first. Once her whole body was in, she hung from the edge and placed her feet on the bathroom sink. She managed to get in and land as soft as she could without shaking the vehicle. Bingo.

She looked around and smiled. It's been awhile since she'd seen a working bathroom before. For a split second, she was tempted to use it. She quickly shook her head though, and got back into the game. She had a mission: find weapons, find ammo, find food. She carefully walked over to the bathroom door and slid it open ever so slightly. She couldn't see anyone in the front. She slid it open more and poked her head out. No one in front, and no one in back. They were all still outside doing god knows what.

Whoever's vehicle this was, they sure traveled a lot. There were pictures of famous landmarks and beautiful landscapes scattered across the room. A fishing rod hung on the wall, and a flag was pinned against the window. Something about this particular place reminded Kei of the world before all this mess. It was nice, and had a sense of home about it that she had long since forgot. Whoever inhabited this place couldn't be that threatening.

She quickly snapped out of her curiosity. She only had precious little time. She quickly exited the bathroom and started to look. Her heart and mind were racing at this moment. Guns, bullet boxes, anything. She looked where the bed was. Just women's clothing and books and old food wrappers. She walked over to the kitchen area and checked the cupboards. She swiped a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers, but no ammo boxes. She turned around and checked under the table, smiling instantly. A bag with the word "SHERRIFF" in big bold letters. Now what could be in there?

"_We ain't find nothin yet,_" She heard a familiar voice speak. She perked up. Shane, Daryl, and Glenn had returned.

"_We saw someone in the woods,_" She heard Shane announce, "_Woman by the looks of it. She was huntin' the same deer we were. She booked it before we got a chance to ask about Sophia. Her little pets musta sensed those walkers comin'…_"

She perked up and quickly started going through the bag. A couple boxes of bullets, three or four hand guns, one sniper rifle, two shot guns and a couple boxes of shot gun rounds. She quickly shoved the ammo boxes into her backpack along with the two handguns. She was about to grab the shot gun rifle as well, but then the front door swung open behind her. The Asian boy with the baseball cap, Glenn, was standing there. His eyes went wide in sudden shock.

"Wh…" He let out, his voice momentarily caught in his throat.

She didn't even give him time to think. She dropped the rifle and started rushing towards the bathroom.

"Guys! Guys there's someone in here!" She heard Glenn yell, "Someone's taking our stuff!"

"_Shit, shit, shit!_" She thought out.

She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it and jumping back when she heard a loud bang. Someone was trying to kick the door in.

"Ya damned theif! Come out here!" She heard Shane yell.

"She stole guns, I-it's that girl we saw in the woods," Glenn answered frantically.

"Couldn't bother givin' up the deer so you steal from us, huh?!"

Kei quickly climbed onto the sink and leapt up, grabbing onto the edge of fan's opening and lifting herself up. She heard the bathroom door break and panic struck. She quickly scrambled her way out and heard a swear echo from the bathroom.

"Dammit!" She heard Shane yell, "Daryl! She's on the roof!"

She kept her body low this time as she crawled out. She heard voices out in the parking lot, everyone rushing around and frantically asking what was going on. She could hear the sounds of guns being cocked. Chances were Daryl had his crossbow out, and was waiting for her to stand up so he could use it. She put her fingers to her lips and let out another high pitched whistle, this time in a series of short intervals to signal "_I'm in_ _danger._"

"Come on down, Robin Hood!"

"We don't want to hurt you, we just want our stuff back!" Shane reasoned loudly, "Just give us our weapons and we'll forget this ever happened!"

A long and drawn out howl went off, and suddenly one of the women let out a shrill cry. Kei smirked lightly and stood up, running across the roof and quickly making her way down the ladder. Once she hit the ground Ame rushed past her, weaving in and out of cars and barking madly at the group of survivors. A gun went off along with a short _pang_. Whoever fired had missed their target. Kei kept running towards the hummer for dear life. She could hear Shane yelling for everyone to get in the Winnebago and let him and Glenn handle it. The young girl scoffed and let out another whistle, stopping only briefly to look back and see her two companions running for the woods. She smirked lightly and turned back to run, but quickly knocked into a thick body of muscle. It was Daryl, and he looked mad as all hell. She let out a cry as he grabbed her arms and attempted to take hold of her.

"Shut up!" He seethed, "You got alotta balls, bringin' yer theivin' ass 'round here, tryin'a steal from us."

She jerked around violently to get out of his grasp, but he had an iron grip.

"Stop movin'!"

"Daryl!" She heard Glenn cry out.

"Over here!" He called back, looking down at Kei with fire in his eyes, "Yer in for it now, Robin Hood. Maybe we should let ya hang, leave ya for the walkers. Sound fair to you?"

She let out another cry and jerked around even harder than before. She flailed her body around, her spindly legs attempting to kick him in the shin or the groin. She put her lips together and let out another loud whistle, getting cut off only a few seconds in by one large, dirty, and blood stained hand.

"Don't even think of callin' yer little buddies!" He warned bitterly, "Once we're done with you, I'll hunt 'em down myself and cook my group up a nice big meal of Wolf!"

Kei opened her mouth wide and bit him on the hand. Daryl let out a loud swear and loosened his grip. She managed to jerk herself away and kick him in the stomach. She turned around. Shane and Glenn were only a few feet away. She turned back and made a run for it, she could hear Shane's yells and Daryl's swears echoing behind her. She made it to the hummer and hit the ground, rolling underneath it to hide. She could hear Daryl's footsteps thumping about along with Shane and Glenn's. They stopped right in front of her. Shuffling around and turning every which way.

"Can you track her from here?!" Shane asked.

"Bit hard seein' as we're on a road full of goddamn cars!" Daryl bit.

"Hey no need to get mouthy to me! You're the one who lost her!" Shane growled.

"Well I ain't the one who went all John Lennon in the woods back there!" Daryl bit, "Should'a shot her while we had the chance!"

"Guys, we have no more ammo," She heard Glenn speak, his voice dripping with worry, "What are we gonna do?"

"We'll head back to the farm," Shane answered, "See if Hershel has any more. If not, you might need to make a run into town."

Kei took small, shallow breaths through her nose as she listened closely. A farm, huh? That sounded nice.

"What are we going to tell Rick and the others?" Glenn asked.

"The truth," Daryl replied, "A no good asshole looter snuck in an' took our stuff."

Others. So there were more. How many were there, exactly? A couple families, a small neighborhood maybe? This farm sounded nice, maybe big enough for her to sneak around in. She could swipe a few eggs, and maybe even a few chickens for Ame and Ren. Maybe this farm had vegetables too.

This place sounded too good to pass up. She could leave the car here, steal and stock up on food for a couple days, and then come back and head out to Fort Benning. Perfect.

"Alright, alright here's what we do," Shane spoke, "I'm assumin' that little thief has a camp 'round here somewhere. Probably comes here time to time to grab food and clothes and stuff. When we come back to look for Sophia, Daryl, you go on an' take Glenn to help you track down the girl."

She watched as the men's feet trotted on back towards the RV. She rolled out from the other side and peeked over the hood as Glenn and Shane went inside the RV. Daryl made his way onto a motorcycle, taking a seat and revving it up. The hunter turned his bike around and zipped his way past her car. Meanwhile, the RV was starting up. Kei quickly went into her car and grabbed her backpack and a medicine kit. She quietly shut the door and weaved her way around the cars as she headed for the RV. Right when the back of the vehicle was facing her, she quickly ran for the ladder and latched on, holding on for dear life as she went along with the survivors towards this farm.

She made note of the turns and roads that they took as the approached what she assumed was the farm. It was huge, a lot bigger and more open than she expected. Big amber fields as far as she could see that were stopped by the lining of forest. It was so warm and quiet that it could easily be mistaken as a new world with no violence or dangers. She could see a fire lit over by a couple trees, and the silhouettes of living bodies moving around it. The RV was heading right towards the camp, and that's when Kei started to climb the ladder. She made her way onto the roof and looked up. A branch was heading her way. She reached for it and jumped up, clinging on and climbing it as the RV went on a few feet ahead. She made her way into the tree and climbed on, making her way across and onto the other side closer the fire. She was far enough so that no one could make her out in the dark, but by dawn she would have to move. There weren't a lot of leaves in this tree, and she definitely would be spotted in broad daylight.

Kei watched as Shane and the others left the RV and walked over to the fire. 3 women; one tan blonde, one tall brunette, and the soft spoken woman with really short grey hair. There were 6 men as well. She recognized Shane, Daryl and Glenn, but she didn't recognize the old man in the fisherman's cap, the African-American man with the bandaged arm, nor the tall man standing up with his hands on his hips. His movements, the way his eyes looked to each and every one of them, she could tell he was the leader.

"What happened?" The tall one asked, "Y'all alright?"

"Yeah, yeah we are but…well, we got a problem man," Shane spoke, walking up next to him. Kei watched closely as Shane put his hand on the leader's shoulder. They're best friends, worked together before the virus hit. They were both officers of some kind, going by their posture. Shane is second in command of the group.

"Some damn girl stole all our ammo," Daryl announced, taking a seat on a lawn chair next to the fire.

"Wait, what?" The leader asked out.

"We was huntin' in the woods when Daryl brought down a buck," Shane explained, "Another arrow was stuck in it. Some girl with her hood up was huntin' the same one. Before we could ask her name or anythin' about Sophia, she bolted."

"She's fast," Daryl mentioned, scooping himself up some of what was in the pot, "Clever too. She even got a couple of wolves followin' her."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…_wolves_?" The tall brunette woman quoted.

"Yeah, wolves," Shane answered, "She found the RV and snuck in through the openin' above the bathroom. We had her surrounded on the roof when all of the sudden she whistles and these two wolves come outta nowhere. We was busy tryin' to get everyone safe when she got away."

"She managed to steal all the handgun ammo, took some food too," Glenn mentioned sheepishly when everyone looked to him, "J-Just some…peanut butter and crackers though, a-and two handguns. She was about to take the rifles too, but I came in and I…guess I spooked her."

"Rick," Shane spoke, looking to the tall man for guidance, "What you want us to do, man?"

Kei squinted her eyes at the leader. Rick, huh? Handsome, from what she could see by firelight. Tall, lean, his face slightly brushed with dirt. His face was gentle, but he stood tall with an almost commanding presence that portrayed authority. He was thinking deeply about their next move. She could tell that he does that a lot.

"Do y'all think she's a threat?" He asked, looking towards Daryl for confirmation.

"She's a crafty sumbitch," He answered honestly, "If she really ain't, her little pets are if she sicks 'em on us. I'd say she ain't afraid of doin' whatever it takes to survive."

Kei couldn't help but smirk. He didn't know the half of it. She watched as Rick paced around a little before looking to the group.

"The RV stays here," He spoke sternly, "No one but the men go out to the highway until we can be sure that this girl and her friends are gone. I don't want anyone else goin' off lookin' for Sophia and end up gettin' hurt. We don't know the full extent of what this girl can do, and if she has any _human_ friends out there in the woods. For right now, she's a threat."

He turned to Shane and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"We'll take the truck up there tomorrow and continue the search for Sophia," He offered. His best friend nodded, turning with Rick to look back at the group.

"Alright y'all, best get some shut eye, we got a big day tomorrow," He quickly took Rick's shoulder and held him back for a moment, "I was hopin' to send Daryl out on a side mission to track the girl, see if he can find our guns and missin ammo. We think she might be campin' out there in the woods."

Kei licked her lips a little and watched as Rick nodded, patting his friend's shoulder before breaking away to go with the brunette woman to their tent. So, the tall and skinny brunette is his wife, and they've been married for quite some time by the looks of it. Everyone started setting into their tents while the older guy named Dale took watch. The group apparently took hourly shifts with each other, mostly just watching the edge of the forest for walkers no doubt.

She watched as Glenn put out the fire and was the last go inside his tent. She waited an hour, when T-Dog took shift, to move. She propped her sleeping bag and her bow against the tree. She then quietly slid down and landed softly into the grass. She stayed hidden behind the shadow of the tree as she shouldered her katana and started quietly moving across camp. She kept her hood up and made her way towards the edge of the forest, running in the shadows until she made it behind the chicken coop. She skillfully climbed over the wired fence and made it to the back door. She carefully opened it up went inside, grabbing a small burlap sack lying on one of the empty perches. She began to carefully fill it up with eggs. Once she had 6 of them, she quietly exited the coop and went on to scrounge for more food.

She found more peaches in a tree near the farmhouse and a sack of apples by the horse stables. By the time she was done, she had about two hours to sleep before dawn would approach. By that time, she would have to find a good hiding spot until night fell again. Then, she could make her way back to the highway and get back on track to Fort Benning.

She made her way back up into the tree and watched the stars for a bit. They seemed so different now. Before the virus struck, she just saw them as little shiny dots in the sky. She never took time to truly look at them. She was so distracted with her laptop and her phone and her friends and the latest and greatest. Now that it was all gone, all she had were the stars, the sky, the trees, the water. All she had to entertain her was nature, and now that she got a good look at it, it was all really quite, well…_beautiful._

She continued to watch the stars until her eyes drooped shut and finally fell asleep.

"_This is not training_,"

Deep breath. One, two, three...

Her sword slashed sideways. Her mother's head rolled across the floor.

"_The threats you will be facing are real_. _Every single thing in this world has evolved to kill humans. Every single decision you make will be life or death.."_

Exhale. Four…Five...Six…

Her sister's head flew backwards, hitting the floor and rolling to the back door. Blood splattered across the wood flooring.

_"If you're going to survive this world, you must remember that fear is not real. It's a product of thoughts _you _create." _

Inhale. Seven...Eight...Nine...

Her grandparent's bodies fell to the floor with a thud, landing in a pool of red.

_"Now don't get the wrong idea and think danger is the same way. Danger is very real."_

_The blade cut across her father's neck, his head falling off and joining his wife and daughter's._

"_Fear though? Fear is a choice."_

She watched as the flames licked higher, engulfing their bodies and consuming her entire house.

And then opened her eyes.

She blinked a few times, screwing them shut and rubbing her eyelids. She opened her eyes and looked around. The sun had risen higher than she had hoped. She stretched out her arms and let out a light huff through her nose, smiling internally at the scent of fresh air. It had been a long time since she smelled something other than blood or rotted flesh. She assembled her supplies and made her way down the tree once more. She landed on the ground with a soft thud, re-shouldering her weapons as she stood up straight. She turned around to move, but instantly froze when she saw something completely unexpected.

A small, dark-haired, and freckled boy stood there by the large green tent. His eyes were slightly wide and naturally he took a step back. He hovered slightly, eyeing Kei curiously and cocking his head. Kei took a step back and pressed her back against the tree. She didn't know what to do. If she moved, he might scream and wake the others up.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice quiet and surprisingly calm.

She didn't answer him. She merely stared, watching his movements closely.

"You're the one they're looking for, aren't you," He spoke, stepping closer like a curious animal, "You're the one with the wolves."

Kei took a sharp breath through her nose when she heard someone exit the tent beside him.

"Carl?"

Her eyes widened, and she started backing away when she saw Rick step out.

"Son? Who're you talking t-"

Their eyes locked, and Kei's mind started racing with a million and one thoughts. She saw Rick put Carl behind him and reach for his side arm. One thought suddenly arose and became as clear as day: Run.

She jerked into action and bolted for the woods. Rick let out a loud and sharp "Hey!" running for her before stopping to call for everyone to wake up. She turned back only once to see the men all getting up and springing into action. Rick had already started running in her direction.

"_Fuck._"

She made it into the woods. She ran past trees and leapt over thick roots that stuck out of the ground. She could hear Rick and his group's feet hitting the leaves further behind her. Rick called out for her to stop. She ran as fast as her feet could take her and let out a shriek when she was only inches away from a short stop and a deep drop in the ground. She looked out past the edge. A creek was several feet below. If she jumped, her feet (if not her legs) would definitely break. She turned around and saw Shane and the others fast approaching. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a loud whistle.

"Watch yer back, fellas!" She heard Shane warn, "She callin' back up!"

Kei held out her bow and docked an arrow swiftly, pointing the arrowhead right at Rick. The small group of men quickly came to a stop and pointed their weapons right at her.

"Easy now, easy," Rick soothed with his hands out, "We just wanna talk. You have somethin' of ours and we'd be mighty happy if you gave it back."

She didn't respond. She drew her arrow back further and eyed the tall man warily. Rick stared into the shadow cast by the woman's hood, trying to make out a face of some kind through the dark.

"What's your name?" He asked, trying to sound friendly and reasonable.

Again, she didn't respond.

"Rick let's just do her in now," Shane whispered sharply, "Let's just put a bullet in her and get this over with!"

"We don't kill the living Shane," He pressed, looking to Kei with a calm demeanor, "Listen, Stranger, I'm sure we can work out somethin' like reasonable people."

There was a certain softness to him. His eyes were light and soft with a conscience. They were the polar opposite of Shane's. His were dark and hardened like hers. They glinted with a dark alternative. He wanted her dead; right here, right now.

"Officer Rick Grimes," Rick spoke, his voice somewhat calming with a southern drawl, "Yours is?"

A long howl went off only a couple yards or so away. Glenn was the first one to look around in panic like the devil was in the trees.

"Dammit!" Shane hissed, suddenly pacing back and forth in a stressed out manner, "Rick, she called her little wolf pals to bail her out! We gotta do her in now before they come in and tear up the whole camp!"

"Shane, I'm handling this," Rick assured.

"Oh you handlin' it? She just called a couple of wild animals to kill us!" Shane barked.

"Shane! Let me reason with her, I'm handling it!" The leader barked back.

Kei just watched them both as they bickered like two children in the sandbox. She could tell that they did this often. It was rather interesting to watch.

"They're gonna come Rick," Shane warned, "They're gonna come in and kill us, and your wife, and Carl, and-"

"Jesus Christ, can we please focus on gettin' back our shit?!" Daryl called,

"You call off your buddies," Shane hissed to the girl, cocking his gun and stepping closer, "You call 'em off RIGHT NOW! YA HEAR?!"

"SHANE!" Rick yelled out. Glenn let out a noise as Ame rushed up to him and stood only two feet away, flaring his teeth, his piercing eyes wide and menacing like the devil. The men all backed away slightly, and jumped when Ren came up to the group's other side. Daryl and Shane pointed their weapons at Ren while T-Dog and Glen kept them pointed at Ame. Rick kept his pointed at Kei.

"Listen, we don't want any trouble," He urged, his voice still surprisingly calm, "We just want our weapons and ammo back."

Kei looked into the leader's eyes. They were trusting, warm, and full of water from the bluest ocean. They reminded her of what her grandmother used to tell her about water-how it could wear away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.

She could tell he didn't want to kill her. He didn't want to kill anyone living. He was a good man. There was no point in trying to run for it. Shane would just shoot her on the spot, and this all would've been for nothing. She would lose some ammo for now, but she had some decent food, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Her arms started to twitch a little from holding the bowstring back for so long. She slowly started to lower her weapon. Rick started to lower his gun, and looked back at the others to make sure they were doing the same. They kept their eyes fixed on the wolves as they continued to growl and flare their teeth. They looked ready to pounce at any moment.

She let out a sigh and let her backpack fall to the ground. She opened it up quickly, tossing out the boxes of ammo and checking the guns to make sure their safeties were on. She tossed them to Rick's feet and she closed up her bag, slinging it back over her shoulder. She looked to her two companions.

"_Kakato_!"

The two wolves eyed the men viciously before slowly returning to her side. They had ceased their growling, but never kept their eyes off of Shane and his hand on the trigger. Rick cautiously reached down and picked up the weapons and ammo, handing them over to T-Dog. The leader's eyes continued to stay fixed on the hooded figure in front of him.

"Thank you stranger," He soothed, "That's all we wanted."

"_Ikimashou_," She spoke to her companions, turning to walk along edge and follow the creek. Ren and Ame slowly turned and followed closely beside her.

"Whoa, whoa hold on now!" Shane yelled, holding up his gun and pointing it towards Kei's back.

"Shane!" Rick called.

"It's a bad idea Rick, we can't just let her go like that," He jeered, "She knows where we live, man! She's gonna come back and get us in our sleep."

"Shane, she's not gonna do that," Rick spoke harshly.

"And how do you know, huh?!" Shane snapped, his eyes fixed on Kei's back, "Why was she back here?! Why did she follow us to the farm, huh?!"

"Shane just calm down man—"

"Shut the hell up, Dog," Shane hissed, "Hey! Robin Hood! You come back here!"

Kei rolled her eyes and kept walking. What a lame nickname. She could hear the gun cocking and Rick telling his best friend to stop.

"Shane! Put the gun down! She gave us the ammo back!" He yelled,

"I'm not lettin' her leave, you said yourself that she was a threat!" Shane screamed.

"She ain't doin' nothin' now!" Daryl yelled.

"Girl if you know what's good for ya, you'll stop RIGHT NOW!" Shane barked.

"_Jikko,_" Kei whispered, bolting to her right and rushing out towards the farm.

Lori screamed bloody murder and grabbed Carl close as two large wolves rushed by their feet. They darted around the campers and ran alongside Kei as she bolted past the camp. The three of them ran down the open field for dear life. She was several feet from the camp now, running through the amber fields as hard as she could. Her lungs were starting to hurt, but she could see the wood fence. She was almost in the clear. All she had to do was jump it, and then she would be free to roam the forest. She could hear the men yelling wildly and suddenly a gunshot rang off. A sharp pain pierced her lower leg and she toppled over onto the ground. She let out a scream and cradled her leg as pain began coursing through her. Ren and Ame stopped instantly and turned back, rushing up to her side and growling viciously at the men approaching.

"_Teishi shinaide_!" She cried out to her companions, waving her hand towards the forest. "Go! _Teishi shinaide_!"

Ren and Ame barked at the group of men before quickly springing off towards the woods. Kei held her wounded leg closely and let out a strained cry. Blood covered her hands, her leg was burning. Sound began to blend together. She could hear Rick's muffled voice yelling something she couldn't make out. Her back hit the grass. She looked up at the morning sky, her view suddenly being blocked by a ring of heads looking down at her. One of them was Rick's, and he got down on one knee to look at her. His lips moved, but no sound was coming out. She closed her eyes only for minute, before it became impossible for her to open them.

"_I can't believe you did that,"_

_"__She was running for the camp man. She was gonna hurt the others!"_

"_She ran _past _the others, she gave back what she stole!" Rick barked._

"_Keep your voices down," A woman's voice hissed._

"_Not everything," Daryl's voice echoed, "Bag's full'a food: Apples, eggs, peaches, even the peanut butter and crackers."_

"_She was hungry," Another woman's voice chirped._

_"__We're all hungry, doesn't give her a right to sneak in here and steal," Shane seethed._

"_Doesn't give you a right to try and put a bullet in her brain either," Rick replied._

_"__So what do we do with her?"_

_"__Luckily the bullet didn't do any severe damage to the calf," A southern man significantly older explained, "It cut deep, but the leg should heal a lot quicker than it would had Shane really hit the muscle."_

_"__We'll give her a pack and send her on her way then," Rick stated._

_"__You can't be serious," Shane argued, "She's seen the farm man, what makes you so sure she won't come back?"_

"_Then we blindfold her and drive her out somewhere," Rick offered._

_"__Look let's not discuss this now, not in front of her at least," Another woman chimed in._

_"__What she care?" Shane scoffed, "She's passed out anyhow."_

_"__Let's just discuss this downstairs, okay? She needs her rest…"_


	3. Chapter 3 - Name

"What, we good 'nough to steal from, but not good 'nough to talk to?"

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Name

Kei opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Clean, no cracks, no water stains. This house was being lived in and kept up nicely. She furrowed. She could hear the faint clanking of silverware and dishes from below the floor. She felt the bed she was on. The mattress was soft, and she was resting on down feather pillows and a warm quilted blanket. She sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed, a sharp pain shooting up her right leg. She attempted stand up on the hard floor. Her leg ached, but she could move it without it being excruciating. She limped over to the door and opened it, stepping out and taking in her surroundings. A long hallway, wood floors, fancy plates and family photos hanging up on either side of the wall. A crucifix hung just above the window ahead of her. A family... strong religious beliefs…tight knit? Possibly.

She limped her way down the steps and heard a mass of voices instantly hush. She looked down into the living room. Rick's group and a few others were looking at her curiously like an animal at the zoo. Their eyes scanned her up and down while Rick came up to her with a light smile.

"Finally see ya without that mysterious hood of yours," He replied happily, "You feelin' alright?"

She nodded lightly. He nodded back as well, turning back to look at the group.

"Everyone, this is…" He turned back to her, looking for a name. She chewed on her lip a little, her dark eyes darting to the floor without a word. Rick stared at her with slight sympathy before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, good to see you awake. I bet yer hungry."

She nodded lightly, immediately glaring at Shane after hearing a scoff leave his mouth. Rick's wife Lori came up to her and introduced herself before escorting her to the kitchen. She had a plate of chicken and vegetables waiting for her at the table. Her dark eyes widened slightly. Food that was cooked and warm, she almost wanted to cry. She tried her hardest to look civil as she ate, but after months of feeding on squirrel and rabbit and old jerky, she failed horribly. She wolfed down the food, shoving the rice and vegetables in her mouth within minutes and choking slightly on the chicken. Lori patted her back lightly.

"Easy now, easy," She chuckled, "Smaller bites. Plenty more where that came from."

Kei wiped her mouth slightly and guzzled down the glass of water beside her. She let out a sharp sigh and wiped her mouth once more. She looked over at Lori across from her and noticed her observant expression.

"Better?"

She nodded, watching closely as the doe-eyed brunette brushed some hair behind her ear.

"Mind tellin' me what you were doin' here in the first place?"

She didn't answer. She just picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. Lori rubbed the back of her neck and kept her eyes fixed on the table.

"Could've asked for a bite at the highway," She replied with a light smile, "Nothin' wrong with askin', 'sa hell of a lot easier than stealin'. A lot more civil as well."

Kei's eyes fell to her plate, focusing on the vegetables and rice.

"Your friends gave us all quite a scare, darting through camp like that," Lori mentioned.

Still not a word in response.

"You headin' somewhere?" She asked, looking at Kei in hope for an answer. The dark haired girl just stared down at her meal. She could at least give her one answer. They were being pretty hospitable after all that she did.

"…Fort Benning." She answered quietly.

Lori perked up a little and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Fort Benning," She quoted. Kei nodded lightly and scooped up a spoonful of rice, shoving it into her mouth.

"Lori," A voice chirped out. A woman with short hair quietly stepped in and poked her head out through the doorway, "Rick wants to speak with you."

The soft spoken woman's eyes looked over to Kei before going back to the Leader's wife. Lori nodded to her lightly and then looked to Kei with a smile.

"Go on and finish up," She urged, "I'll be back later, give you a tour of the house."

Kei nodded lightly and continued to scrape away at her plate. She chewed quietly and slowly as she closed her eyes, listening closely to the conversation going on in the other room.

"She didn't say much," Lori explained, "Just that she's headin' over to Fort Benning."

She heard Shane scoff.

"Fort Benning," He groused, "Course she's headin' there. Guessin' she wants to tag along for the ride, too."

"Well she's goin' the same way, why not ask her to?" Lori asked.

"Did y'all forget what she just did?" Shane retorted, "Stole our weapons, sicked her little meat eating pets on the camp, stole our foo—"

"Nobody at the camp got hurt," Rick reasoned, "And she gave back everything she stole. She's fast, quiet…"

"You can't be serious," Shane spoke.

"Well why not?" Rick asked, his tone slightly challenging.

"Because she's a threat! You said it yourself last night, she's a threat!"

"She seems nice enough to me," Lori retorted.

"We can't trust her," Shane argued, "We can't—She's just another mouth to feed. We can't ration anymore."

"Well why don't we ask her what she wants to do?" She heard an older man suggest.

"What she wants," Shane scoffed again, "What she wants, Dale? What she wants is probably to kill us all off and take our stuff."

Shane was getting desperate at this point. She could sense it in his tone of voice. He really wanted her gone, and she was more than happy to meet his wishes. She opened her eyes and ate the last piece of chicken on her plate. She then slowly slid out of her seat and limped on over to the living room. Everyone was still sitting in their seats while Shane and Rick stood in the center of the room. All of them turned to look at her as she leaned against the doorway. They all waited on her for a breif second to say something, but instead she just looked away and limped over to the stairs. Lori was the first one to get up and help her. The girl listened as they continued to talk about her while she headed up the steps.

"Well she sure is a ray of sunshine," She heard a woman scoff.

"Well Shane did almost blow her leg off," Dale spoke.

"Which is another thing we need to discuss," The old southern man spoke, "I thought I was clear on using guns on my property…"

"You don't wanna listen to all that," Lori assured softly, "Come on now."

She helped Kei cross the hall and enter her room, setting her gently on the bed. The brunette brushed some hair behind her ear and took a seat next to her, sighing contently and folding her hands together.

"You think you'd wanna stay with us? A-At least until your leg heals up?"

Kei twisted her lips to the side a bit, looking to the floor without a word.

"I think you'd be alright," She replied honestly, "Well, Shane might give you a bit of grief, Daryl too, but he's not so bad."

Kei looked down at her bandaged leg for a bit, before looking out towards the window. She peered at the edge of the forest, Ren and Ame crossing her mind instantly.

"No one'll hurt you here," Lori promised, "But we don't want your friends out in the woods hurtin' anyone here either. No humans, no farm animals."

Kei turned to the brunette and nodded lightly. Of course Ren and Ame wouldn't hurt them, not unless they attempted to hurt her first.

"You just go on and think 'bout it," Lori reasoned, patting her shoulder once more before getting up. She told Kei to get some rest and that she'll come up to check on her later. The young girl nodded and snuggled into her bed. It had been so long since she had something so soft and normal to sleep on. For once, she managed to get some sleep. For once, the night terrors stopped attacking her thoughts.

* * *

"I say we take her out," Shane spoke out firmly, "We outta take her out deep in the woods somewhere and nip it in the bud."

Rick paced around the floor and looked to the old farmer sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

"Hershel?" He asked, looking to him for what he had to say.

"I don't want those wolves anywhere near my animals," He commanded, "There's no tellin' how many chickens I'll lose if we have them runnin' around."

"They seemed well trained," Rick mentioned, "She spoke to them and obeyed her every command."

"Dogs don' listen all the time, Rick," Shane argued, "They been huntin' rabbit an' squirrel most of the time. We let them run 'round here, it'll be like ringin' the damn dinner bell for a free meal."

Rick ran a hand through his sweaty hair and shook his head. She seemed like a good addition to their group. She was smart, cautious, and a good hunter by what Daryl had said a couple nights ago. Winter would come soon, and food would be scarce. They could use all the help with hunting they could get at this point.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it was quickly cut off by the front door swinging open and Beth running through.

"Daddy come quick!" She yelped, her blue eyes wide with panic, "Nellie threw Jimmy off of her! She's escaping!"

Hershel and the others quickly followed the little blonde and rushed out on the porch, watching as Nervous Nellie whinnied loudly and ran across. She heading out to the fields and making her way straight for the forest. Just then, two blurred figures darted across the field, running after the horse. They bounded up and down and Rick caught sight of them heading towards the panicked animal. The minute he saw their long bushy tails and their pointed ears, his eyes widened in sudden realization. Shane was the first to acknowledge it out loud and let out a frustrated growl.

"It's those damn wolves!"

"They're gonna kill the horse!" Patricia let out beside him.

"Not if I can help it!" Hershel growled, rushing out with his shot gun at hand. He stepped out onto the ground and cocked his gun, pointing it at the blurred figures rushing towards his late wife's horse. Rick watched closely as the two wolves chased the animal around and noticed that something was off. His eyebrows furrowed together, and suddenly he realized what was happening.

"Hershel!" He exclaimed, "Wait! Hershel!" He rushed down the steps and grabbed the farmer's arm. He held him back, pointing at the two creatures and urging him to really look. They weren't biting at Nellie's legs or trying to claw at her throat. They were simply running around her, attempting to make her turn back.

"They're…wait a minute, are they…wrangling her?" Glenn asked, looking out at the scene in disbelief.

Ren barked loudly and darted circles around Nellie, causing the horse to rear and whinny in panic. She turned around sharply and started making her way back towards the farm. The two wolves darted beside her on either side, guiding her towards the stables. Just as she made it past the house, Hershel, Jimmy, and Maggie quickly rushed out to stop her and calm her down. While they did so, the wolves stopped near the house and looked to the group on the porch. All of them stared at the creatures in disbelief. Rick stared at the two of them in awe. Still amazed by what he had just seen, he almost missed Carl stepping out towards the dogs to get a closer look. He quickly took hold of the young boy's arm and held him back.

"Stay back, Carl," He warned.

"But I wanna see,"

"Carl, you stay back," Lori warned.

Ame was the first to make a move. The grey wolf trotted closer to the porch, and the group instantly took a step back. The large animal made it up to the steps when everyone except Rick piled back over by the porch swing. The officer swallowed deeply as he knelt down a little, looking directly into Ame's large golden eyes. Neither of them moved. He chewed on his lower lip a little in caution, slowly holding out his hand to the wolf. Ame looked down at it, cocking his head and pressing his wet nose to his palm. He sniffed it a couple times before huffing out and suddenly leaning forward. Lori let out a small yelp as the dog nearly knocked the man over and started licking his face. Rick's face twisted at the smell of its breath, but started laughing at the feel of its tongue tickling the skin of his whiskery cheek. He ran a hand through Ame's thick fur, saying "good boy," over and over. Ren quickly rushed up to join, but instead went for the frightened group on the porch. She leapt for Andrea, but the blonde panicked and ran behind T-Dog, leaving him to take the dog jumping up on it's hind legs and placing her paws on his stomach. Ren wagged her tail happily and jumped up, attempting to lick his face.

"Down! Down dog! Sit!" The man exclaimed, leaning back to avoid her wet nose and tongue, "How the hell does she control these things!"

"Suwatte!" A voice called from the porch. Ren immediately ceased jumping and sat down at attention. Ame got off of Rick and mimicked the same actions. The young officer wiped his face and turned around. Kei was standing behind the screen door, looking firmly at her two companions. Hershel, Maggie, and Jimmy rushed back to the porch, wiping their sweaty foreheads and panting.

"Got her back in her stable," Hershel announced, "No bites or scratches. How on earth did ya teach them to wrangle a horse like that?"

Kei didn't answer. She just stared at him quizzically.

"Nellie just escaped," The old farmer explained as he pointed to the wolves, "And those two just darted out of the woods and started chasing the horse back to the stables."

She stared at the two wolves with raised eyebrows. Ren and Ame stood up and wagged their tails rapidly in satisfaction. She smiled at them both and looked to the woods.

"Modotte mori e. Iku!"  
(back to the forest. go!)

Ren snapped into action and leapt over the porch railing. Ame darted back down the stairs and the two made their way back towards the woods.

"Whoa whoa whoa, where they going?!" Daryl asked out.

"She sent them back," Lori answered, watching the wolves before turning around to watch Kei limp back inside. Rick and the others quickly followed suit, following her into the house and over to the living room.

"How'd you get them to obey you like that?" Andrea asked, going to the window to watch them disappear into the forest.

"And what's that language you speak," Rick asked, "When you command them to do something?"

"Japanese," Glenn answered.

"You know what she's sayin'?" Daryl asked. Glenn shook his head no and stepped back when Shane brushed past him.

"Well that's a neat little party trick and all, but let's not forget they're carnivores," The man warned, "They'll tear your throat out first chance they get."

"Well, I don't know about that Shane," Rick replied with a half smile, "I mean, my throat's still here, and so is T-Dog's, and Nellie's."

He turned to look at Kei, his expression warm with growing trust. He was really impressed with her right now.

"What else can they do?" He asked.

"Look they can hop, skip, hell they can fetch a pail of water for all I care," Shane spoke, "But we're talking about animals here, aggressive animals. Even if they're naturally sweet and cute and cuddly, they're still wolves. They still have animal instincts, and they could lash out at any moment."

"Well they seem aight to me," T-Dog spoke as he wiped his dirty shirt, "Bit hyper, but smart."

"Really smart," Rick replied, "They could help with the hunting."

"Can they stay on the farm?" Carl asked, excitement apparent in his voice. Rick shrugged his shoulders and turned to the old farmer sitting on the couch by the window.

"Hershel?"

The old man looked to Kei by the fireplace, his sad eyes looking right into her own. She could see he had quite a past etched on his expression; loss, drunkenness, pain. So many demons and burdens, but his faith and the deep love for his family kept him going each day.

"They better be at your side at all times," He warned, "If I find any of my animals hurt or worse, I'll have to ask you and your dogs to leave."

Kei nodded lightly, agreeing to Hershel's terms. The group's meeting adjourned and everyone dispersed to head back out to camp. Kei limped her way out to the porch and whistled loudly. Carl stood at her side and watched as two grey blurs darted out of the woods and ran straight for her. Carl quickly hid behind Kei as they approached her, wagging their tails and bounding around in excitement. He poked his head out from behind her and slowly held out his hand. Ame came closer, sniffing his palm lightly and licking it. The young boy retracted his hand quickly and laughed.

"Ew!" He exclaimed with a grin. He stepped out further and reached out his hand. Ame nudged it lightly and snuggled his head under Carl's palm, asking to be petted. He gently ran his hands through Ame's fur and smiled. He always wanted a dog, ever since his best friend got a puppy for Christmas in 3rd grade. Boy, if his friend could see him now, petting a real live wolf.

Kei was invited to sit at the campfire with the rest of Rick's group that night. A lot of what was talked about was what they did before the world ended. Andrea was a Civil Rights Lawyer, making good money and just starting to make a name for herself. Shane and Rick were local deputies, and they've been best friends since High School. Both Carol and Lori were stay-at-home mothers, and Dale was in retirement, living the simple life up until he lost his wife to cancer. He seemed to be more of a mentor now, to Andrea more than anyone. Kei noticed how close they were, regardless of she constantly bickered in annoyance about how Dale watched her every move like a hawk. When it came Glenn's turn, he just sheepishly answered that he was just a pizza delivery boy, and didn't really do much when he wasn't working. T-Dog was an office man, and was in the middle of transferring to Atlanta before all the panic set in. Daryl never said what he did, he just told them that he ran a business, and that it was called "none of yers".

"So, what about you, Stranger?" Shane asked Kei, his tone snarky and challenging, "What'd you do before all this? Tame wild animals?"

She didn't answer him. She just glared and went back to looking down at her meal.

"Never even caught yer name, what is it anyway?"

"Shane," Lori scolded.

"Nah, nah, we oughtta know as much as possible about our new potential group member," He justified simply,"We're uh, gonna be entrusting our lives with her after all. So how 'bout it, tell us what you did."

She didn't answer. She just scraped at her plate and continued to eat, looking down at Ren and Ame at her feet. Shane let out another scoff.

"What, we good 'nough to steal from, but not good 'nough to talk to?"

"Shane," Rick warned.

"She's a mute…" Glenn declared in sudden defense, "A-At least I think she is…anyway…"

"That true, Stranger?" Shane asked, putting her on the spot again, "You a mute?"

"If she is, are you really expecting an answer?" Andrea disputed.

"Well she yells out commands to her little buddies right there," Shane justified, looking down at Ren and Ame, "Figure she knows a few more words."

"Maybe she only speaks Japanese," Dale defended, "Either way you shouldn't be ganging up on her like this. She just woke up, she should be taking it easy."

Kei looked to the old man in the fisherman's cap. He smiled at her before focusing back on his meal. Everyone was quiet up until their meals were finished. They all started getting up and settling into their tents. Carl asked Rick if Ame could sleep in their tent. Lori was instantly against the idea of a wild animal sleeping in the same tent as them. Rick on the other hand, after watching Carl and Ame together, was leaning towards letting him. The gray wolf snuggled closely to Carl, licking and nuzzling his hand, encouraging the little boy to keep petting him. His son was happy, smiling and giggling lightly. He hugged Ame around his neck, rubbing his furry back saying "good boy" over and over. It had been a long time since he'd seen Carl this happy.

"Baby, I think we better let them sleep with their owner tonight," Lori told the small boy, "I don't want them goin' to the bathroom all over our tent."

Truth be told, she was more scared about Ame biting her kid's face off in the night rather than going to the bathroom. Carl looked down at the ground with his mouth twisted to the side a little in disappointment. He gave Ame one last hug before wishing him and Kei goodnight. Kei looked up at the little boy and smiled back without a word.


	4. Chapter 4 - Safety

"If I ever find that yer here to hurt mah crew, I'll kill ya,"

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Safety

After two days of bed rest, Hershel let Kei try and move around a bit. She limped out of the house with her bow and arrows at hand, taking in the scent of morning air. She let out a sigh through her nose, rubbing her arms and neck in satisfaction. It had been a long time since she had a real bed to sleep in. It was nice, she could definitely get used to it.

She limped her way off the porch and stood at the bottom of the steps, looking out towards the camp where Rick's group was. She could hear voices raising, and saw Shane's arms flailing around over by Carol's Cherokee. He was arguing with someone again, and chances were it was Rick.

"We can't let her stay here," Shane commanded.

"And why not," Rick asked, clearly tired of this conversation.

"She stole our shit when we first met her, man," Shane answered, "She didn't ask or—or even attempt to plead her case for some food. She just went up and stole. Then she sicks those mutts after us on the highway, and you practically welcome them in and let them sleep next to your own son."

"They aren't dangerous!" Rick objected.

"Will you listen to yourself?" Shane yelled, "Wolves, hunters, killers, aren't dangerous. Dammit Rick what world you livin' in right now, is it nice?! Care if we join in too?!"

"Shane!" Lori protested loudly, "Her pets aren't as bad as they seem, I admit they're a little intimidating, but they helped Hershel with the horses and they love Carl—"

"Oh so they chase horses around and make yer son happy for a lil bit," He snapped back, "Well shit, why not just make those three the leaders then?!"

Lori jerked her head back a little in surprise. She watched as the man ran a hand across his shaved head anxiously.

"Safety," He continued, "That's all we need."

"And that's what we have," Rick noted urgently, "And we could have even more if we include her and the wolves into our group."

"Nah," Shane spoke lowly, "Nah we'll be dead. You don't even know how good she is. You saw her run around Rick, that's all any of us have seen."

"She shot that deer square in the neck," Daryl mentioned plainly while inspecting one of his bolts, "Gotta be a decent shot with a bow to hit the jugular from a distance."

Shane let out a hearty scoff and shook his head at him.

"Luck, man. She just another ass to cover."

Kei flinched a little and watched as Shane bickered on about her "questionable" skills. Rick continued to talk in her defense, bringing up points about her having to be good in order for her to survive this long on her own. Shane continued to shake his head and say that she was just going to get them killed, or herself killed, and that she wasn't good enough.

The girl shook her head with an agitated sigh and held out her bow. She prepared an arrow and drew it back, pointing it around to look for a small yet easy target.

Well, easy for her, anyway.

Glenn had left an apple on the hood of Carol's Cherokee. Behind that (only a couple feet away) was a tree. Perfect.

She drew back her arrow further and let go, watching it zip forward and pierce the apple's side. The arrow carried it across the hood and hit the tree within seconds. Rick and Shane instantly stopped bickering. Glenn and Daryl's heads perked up, and Carol's hand was to her chest in shock. They all looked at the apple pinned to the tree, and then turned to look in Kei's direction. She merely looked to Shane and leaned forward, taking a small bow before turning around.

Everyone just stood there and watched as she limped back inside the house. Rick had his eyebrows raised in surprise before looking to Shane in amusement. The man just shook his head immediately, turning around to limp away towards the camp fire. Daryl stepped up to the tree and pulled out the arrow, staring at the apple closely. He smirked, turning around to show Kei's good work to Rick.

"Seems like she can hold her own to me,"

Noon time rolled around. Rick and a few others went out to the highway to look for the missing girl again. This time Ren went along as well. Rick figured they could get a lot farther with Daryl's tracking and a wolf's sense of smell and hearing. Kei stayed behind and watched from the roof of the RV as Carl and Ame played fetch.

"I for one don't think you're a threat," Dale mentioned suddenly, "Some of the others have their doubts, but I can see it. You're a good person, just trying to get by like the rest of us."

She smiled lightly and took a small sip of water, watching as Carl tossed a stick towards the field. Ame darted off after it as quick as lightning.

"What is your name, anyway?" She heard the old man ask, "I figure it's a lot better than 'stranger'."

"Kei," She peeped, watching as Carl threw a ball and Ame rushed to go fetch it.

"K…" Dale chuckled lightly, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Kei," She repeated slightly louder.

"Kei," He repeated, earning a nod from the girl, "A nice name."

She smiled lightly and returned to looking out at the fields. She sighed at the sight. It had been a while since she'd been somewhere so open with such a big sky.

"Do you have family out here, Kei?" She heard him ask suddenly, "Do you have family anywhere?"

She shook her head no.

"I'm sorry to hear that," He replied honestly, "Andrea lost family too recently. We all have."

She looked up to him, her eyes big and curious, as if asking him the same question. He caught on and looked out towards the fields.

"I had a wife," He mentioned with a sigh, "As fate would have it, she didn't live to see the world end. She left early, lost the battle to cancer. Well, I wouldn't say lost. She put up a damn good fight, but it was her time, and she accepted that."

Kei's dark eyes traveled to the floor for a moment.

"I couldn't at the time," He sighed, "It took a while, but I finally did. I had to after all, so much was going on."

Dale felt a hand gently place itself on his knee cap in comfort. He looked down at Kei and smiled. She smiled back, the both of them turning back to watch the fields roll with the clouds in the wind.

Ren darted around the trees and made her way over to the creek. She leapt down and landed in the creek bed, her nose sniffing against the rocks and dirt. Daryl leapt down as well, observing the ground closely before looking ahead down the creek.

"This mutt ain't half bad," He spoke with a smirk, "Got some prints here."

"Are they Sophia's?" Andrea asked, leaping down and landing next to the hunter. Daryl looked down at the dirt closely, squinting a little at the faded shoe print in the mud between two rocks.

"Small enough," He mentioned. Rick and Shane leapt down as well, watching as the Red Wolf weaved around the creek and continued to sniff.

"Why on earth would she be down here?" Andrea asked, looking around curiously.

"Most recognizable landmark in the woods, why not?" Shane asked back.

Ren perked up suddenly and turned to look down the creek. She let out a huff before letting out a sharp growl and darting up ahead. Daryl Rick quickly rushed after her, Andrea and Shane following suit. They ran several feet down before pausing suddenly. Only a few feet ahead was a walker, and Ren growled at it viciously. The rotted corpse turned and looked at the group with its milky white eyes. The walker was a woman, with thin and dirty clumps of hair on its skull and one arm missing. Daryl held up his crossbow and started to get closer. Ren rushed up ahead and darted over to the Walker's side, growling viciously and baring her teeth. The Walker turned its head with a loud crack and started stumbling its way to the ball of fur and meat. Its task was quickly cut short by an arrow coming on fast and piercing it right in the skull. The body flung to the side and landed with a thud. Ren immediately wagged her tail in satisfaction and ran up to Rick's side. He let out a "good girl" in gratitude and looked to Daryl. The man nodded and kept his eyes glued to the dirt floor, moving onward and following the light trail of tracks.

"Well, she's certainly…different," T-Dog mentioned, watching Kei from the RV as she limped over to the field, "A bit intimidatin' with that whole Last Samurai thing she got goin' on..."

"Yeah well she's in a lot of pain," Dale justified, "She's been through a lot. We all have."

The old man watched the girl in the field as she carefully sat herself down in the grass. She gently rubbed her bandaged leg and stared out at the scenery for a moment, seeming to get lost in her thoughts. She sat out there for a while, just looking out at the forest, occasionally ripping up small chunks of long grass and dirt on either side of her. She didn't say a word, she didn't express any sort of emotion-she just sat there, looking at the edge of the empty forest.

Dale and T-Dog watched as she stood back up and started to limp her way back to camp. Carl and Ame came darting out from his tent, the young boy laughing and yelling for Ame to catch up. The two of them ran towards the girl and stopped in front of her, excitement practically radiating from their bodies. Carl spoke frantically to her about something that the two men on the RV couldn't hear. The girl just smiled and nodded her head, continuing on towards the camp.

Once the three made it back, Rick and the rest of the search team had come back as well. The police sheriff nodded to Kei and smiled as Carl and Ame ran up to him. Both of them seemed equally excited, Carl hugging his dad tightly and Ame darting circles around them. Kei smiled at the scene before walking onward, only to be stopped by someone saying, "Hey, Mutey!" behind her. She stopped and turned. Daryl stalked up to her, their significant difference in height revealing itself. Kei looked up at him expectantly, watching as his stormy eyes roamed over her.

"Yer mutt did good today," He admitted lowly, "But I still don't trust ya."

Kei chewed on the inside of her lip a little. She could tell where this was going.

"Now you listen to me good," he said, his voice dark, "I don't care if you stay here or not, but you understand one thing."

He leaned forward, and Kei found herself stepping back.

"If I ever find that yer here to hurt mah crew, I'll kill ya," He muttered, "I don't need you here tryin'a fuck up things. These guys've been through 'nough…"

She furrowed at him. A compliment and a threat? She hadn't had that in awhile. She nodded lightly and let out a loud and short whistle. Ren and Ame sprung over to her side happily, wagging their tails as they followed her back over to the camp fire.

Carol handed the girl a plate of eggs with a couple peach slices. The girl looked at her closely. It looked like her mind was away from the world. Her eyes were glassy and pink. She had been crying. The woman quickly turned away and went on to serve lunch to Daryl and the others, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Rick went on to announce their plan to search for Sophia in a couple hours. Kei nibbled on a piece of peach slice quietly as her name was mentioned, but her assignment was to stay behind and try to rest a bit.

"Hershel doesn't want you to put too much stress on your leg right now," He informed, "After a couple more days, you should be fit to go to the highway with Dale and the others.

The young girl nodded, her eyes glancing over at Carol as she took a seat next to Dale. The thin woman looked up from her plate and gave the girl a weak smile, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Kei watched her from time to time with great curiosity. When the thin woman with short hair thought nobody was looking, she would put a hand to her mouth and quietly cry for a minute or so. After wiping her eyes and collecting herself, she'd go back to whatever chore she was doing and that would be it. Kei couldn't imagine what she was going through, to lose her little girl like that, not knowing if she was even alive. Kei felt like she was lucky to never have had to experience that.

Still, her experience was bad, but she could understand Carol's pain. Losing a loved one was never easy. From what Lori had told her during laundry, she had no husband, and now no daughter.

"Although, he was just awful," She mentioned as they scrubbed the clothes in the creek, "He'd hit her, sometimes openly right in front of us. We'd always try to stop it but…"

She fell silent and shook her head. Kei wrung the sopping wet t-shirt in her hands.

"God knows what he did to her before any of this started," She went on, "And I can only fathom about poor Sophia. After Ed got attacked by that herd in camp, I could see it on Carol's face, that small sense of freedom. She still mourned during the burial of course, but we all could see it. It was on our faces too. One less asshole to deal with in the world."

Kei dipped the shirt in water before wringing it out again. She thought about her own experiences with her old boyfriend. He was a hot head at times, and occasionally would break something after a heated argument about things that now seem so petty. He had never physically hit her before. He never had the chance. Her friends Sen, Alex, and Daisuke came in like knights in shining armor and made it clear that they wouldn't let him hurt her, ever. It was after that they broke up, and the last time she saw him was only a week before all hell broke loose.

It was only for a second, but she was walking down the street when she saw him coming from the opposite direction. He had a new girl latched to his arm: a fairly tall brunette with highlights in her hair. He had made eye contact with her for only a second before breaking away, the both of them denying each other's existence. Now that the world had ended however, she wondered if he was still even alive, and if he was acknowledging her existence now.

"Kei,"

She blinked. Rick's big blue eyes were staring right at her big dark browns. He was kneeling in front of her, staring at her curiously with one knee in the dirt.

"Y'alright?" He asked, "You zoned out there for a minute."

She nodded quickly, wiping her forehead before looking back down at her plate. She wasn't used to someone being this close to her, let alone a man.

The corner of Rick's mouth twitched upwards before he got up and patted her shoulder.

"You'll get your shot to help out," He mentioned in comfort, "Right now I need you to stay put, alright? Help Lori and Maggie with whatever they need."

The dark haired girl nodded her head, stuffing her mouth with only a single scoop of eggs before setting the plate down. She looked down and watched as Ren and Ame hurriedly fed on the rest. As the two wolves munched and licked away at the plate, she couldn't help but feel like a pair of eyes were on her. She turned and looked to the right, noticing Daryl openly staring at her and what she just did. He wasn't shy about it either. He didn't look away or even pretend he was looking at something else. He just eyed her for a good second before looking back down at his own meal, completely missing the girl making a confused frown at him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Reasons

"You're alive, and you're pretty. Two good reasons to smile every day."

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Reasons

"Yer gonna need better clothes than those dirty ones ya got on," Maggie assured as she raided her bedroom closet, "I don't own anythin' fancy, but I think you'll look good anyway."

The farmer's daughter pulled out a set of clothes and helped Kei change into them. Once she was finished, Maggie looked her over and smiled lightly.

"You sure you ain't a fashion model?" She asked with a playful tone, "You look like those girl you see in all those high end magazines. You need a bit more meat on your bones, hon."

Kei smiled sheepishly and looked to the floor. She was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. It wasn't like she was wearing an expensive ball gown or something. Still, Maggie gushed about how pretty she was and how nice her smile was. To be honest, it made her feel really good.

"See? You ain't gotta look so sad or angry all the time," The brunette chirped with a toothy smile, "You're alive, and you're pretty. Two good reasons to smile every day."

Kei let out a small laugh, shaking her head as Maggie giggled and patted her shoulder.

"I gotta make a run into town today with Glenn," She mentioned, "Beth'll still be here to help if you have anymore pain today."

Kei cocked her head a little, her expression telling her to explain further.

"We're runnin' low on antibiotics and bandages," She informed, "With everyone here gettin' hurt left and right, we're gonna need double of what we usually get."

The image of her H3 Hummer instantly flashed across her mind. She had enough medical supplies in the trunk to serve a small army for weeks. She could bring the car back to the farm, and she could split half the medical supplies with Hershel and the group. That would definitely get Hershel to trust her, and perhaps even put Shane's little paranoid beef with her at ease. Brilliant.

She had to get back to the highway.

Kei shook her head no rapidly. Maggie's eyebrows furrowed together.

"You don't wanna come?"

She shook her head again. She reached for Maggie's hand and led her downstairs into the kitchen. She found Andrea sitting on the counter with the map in her hands, reading over the grids that Rick had marked.

"Whoa!" The blonde let out, jumping lightly as Kei swiped the map out of her hands. She placed the map down on the kitchen table and spread it out, looking it over as Maggie and Andrea rushed to her side.

"Kei," Maggie spoke, looking to the girl intently, "Kei what is it?"

Kei's dark eyes roamed over the map. She pointed directly at the highway and circled it.

"The highway?" Andrea asked, arching one eyebrow upwards.

"What's at the highway?" Maggie asked.

Kei pointed down at the gauze wrapped around the area under her right knee.

"Gauze?" Andrea guessed.

"Medical supplies," Maggie corrected. She looked down at the map before looking back at the dark haired girl.

"You know where some medical supplies are?"

Kei scribbled down on the side of the map.

It's in my car.  
A few feet away from where you parked your RV.

"Your car…" Maggie spoke, "You got anythin' else? Antibiotics? Bandages?"

Kei nodded her head, holding out her arms to indicate she had a huge amount.

"You'd bring it back here? For us?" Andrea asked.

She nodded. Maggie and Andrea exchanged brief glances of surprise before they turned into warm smiles.

"I'll see if T-Dog can take us in the truck," Andrea informed, taking the map with as she left the house. Maggie looked to Kei before leaping for her and taking her into a tight hug,

"Thank you!" She chirped, "You have no idea what this'll mean to my dad. You're so kind!"

Kei gently placed her hands onto Maggie's back. It had been a long time since she had human contact like this. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hugged by someone, someone who liked her. She wrapped her arms around Maggie's waist and buried her face into her shoulder. She was warm, and she smelled nice. She missed this, human contact. She missed it a lot.

"You sure she got stuff out there?" Shane asked.

"She said she had a huge amount of medical supplies," Andrea spoke, "And I don't know about you, but this group gets banged up pretty bad, we could use it."

"She said it, or did she just flail her arms around and you believed her," Shane asked.

Andrea ignored his jeer and placed the map on the Cherokee's hood. She pointed to the spot where Kei had marked and then to the note she left on the side. The two officers looked the map over. Rick nodded in approval and looked to Shane.

"Sounds good to me," Rick remarked.

"You serious," Shane scoffed, "You know why she wants to go back to the highway? To escape. We fed her, patched her up, and now she wants out."

"Shane, she's been pulling her weight," Andrea defended, "She's helped with chores, and her two pets have been out there with Daryl tracking Sophia nonstop."

"She's done right by us, Shane," Rick added, "And she's doing even more, offering us a share of medical supplies like this. Hershel could definitely use 'em."

Shane removed his hat and shook his head.

"I think she's gonna turn on us, man," He said in a warning tone, "But alright, if you two are so sure about it, go right on ahead."

"Thank you," Rick spoke, turning to Andrea, "In two days, you and T-Dog take the truck up to the highway. Help Kei locate her car and lead her back."

"Two days?"

"Hershel insisted that she not put too much pressure on her leg," He explained.

Andrea nodded lightly and turned away to head back inside, but not before earning a menacing look from Shane.

Kei watched from the porch as Carol and Lori prepared lunch by the firepit. T-Dog and Dale had left earlier to one of the wells while Shane and Andrea were at a table cleaning their guns. Rick was over by Hershel at the side of the house, the two of them talking about something she couldn't hear. She could see Hershel's face though, and he was looking very insistent about something. Rick's mouth moved quickly, his hand fidgeting with his hat in the process. She continued to watch, picking apart their movements and facial expressions to try and figure out what was going on. Her trance was quickly broken when T-Dog stepped onto the porch, huffing and puffing from the run he just clearly went on.

"Aye…you see Glenn anywhere?" He asked, his chest rising and falling as he took deep breaths, "We…We got a problem at the well."

T-Dog and Kei went around camp to gather whoever they could. Dale had stayed behind at the well, still in disbelief at what he saw inside. They returned in short time with Shane, Lori, Glenn, Andrea, and Maggie, and they all crowded around the well. They stared in to see a bloated and grotesque looking Walker at the bottom, the disgusting thing staring up at them with lustful eyes as it clawed at the brick walls of the well. Kei watched in surprise as the creature gurgled and growled loudly, sloshing around the water.

"Looks like we got us a swimmer…" Dale chirped, pointing his flashlight down at the creature.

"How long do you think it's been down there?" Glenn asked, still a bit shocked by its appearance.

"Long enough to grow gills," Andrea answered.

"We can't leave it down there. God knows what its doin to the water…" Lori said, still staring down at it. Shane propped one leg up on the well's edge and stared down at it.

"We gotta get it out," He confirmed.

"Easy… put a bullet in its head," T-Dog mentioned, "I'll get a rope."

He turned to walk back towards camp, but Maggie put her hand up.

"Whoa guys, no…"

"Why not? It's a good plan," Glenn offered. Andrea looked over at him and shook her head.

"It's a stupid plan. If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out definitely will."

Kei continued to stare down at the walker. Shane sighed and licked his lips,

"She's right we can't risk it."

"So… it has to come out alive." T-Dog said while looking over at Shane. The man nodded, a playful smirk suddenly appearing on his face.

"So to speak," He joked.

"How do we do that?" Glenn asked.

Everyone gave each other glances and each stared with equal confusion as they tried to figure out what they were going to do. Glenn had run back to camp and brought back a can of ham along with rope and some wire. Shane wrapped the meat in wire and tied it to the end of the rope, tossing it over and lowering it down the well. The large piece of ham hit the Walker in the face several times, but the creature merely whacked it away and continued to gurgle up towards the group.

Dale let out a sigh, nodding with his flashlight, "Yeah, he's not goin for it."

"Maybe cus a canned ham don't kick and scream when you're tryin to eat it…" T-Dog mentioned sarcastically.

"He's right," Lori replied, "There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards."

"We need live bait,"Andre mentioned, her eyes turning towards the Asian boy next to her. Slowly, everyone turned and stared at young guy with smirks on their faces. Glenn instantly took notice and looked up, seeing all eyes on him. He screwed his eyes shut, muttering a small "dammit." under his breath.

"Have I ever told you that I really like you're new haircut?" Glen coaxed to Shane, "You have a nice shaved head."

Lori walked over and handed him a flashlight. Kei handed him a rope to tie the Walker up with when he got the chance. Shane began to quickly fasten a harness of rope around him. He finished tying the knot and stepped back, patting a rather nervous Glenn on the shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, bud," He assured, "We gonna getcha outta there in one piece."

"Living piece," Glenn corrected, "The living part is important."

The young Asian boy slipped off his hat and handed it over to Kei. He then took hold of the rope, readying himself for the perilous task ahead. Kei walked over towards the pump and grabbed on to a piece of rope, standing in between Lori and Andrea. Shane grabbed the front and all hands were on deck,

"Nice and slow please!" The boy requested.

"You'll be alright Glenn." Lori reassured with a smile. He began to drop himself into the well. Maggie crossed her arms and started pacing, clearly uneasy about the situation.

"Oh, you people are crazy,"

Feeling Glenn's weight tug on the rope, the group slowly began to let the slack go,

"You want it out of your way, dontcha?" Shane asked, keeping his focus on the well.

"Kei, Maggie, Give us an eye there!" Dale spoke.

Kei let go of her share and walked over to Maggie. Together they walked over and stared over the side of the well. Slowly and steadily, Glenn was making his way down. Kei looked past the boy and peered further down, hearing the lustful growls of the Walker as the young man inched closer and closer. Maggie looked down, and then back up at the group,

"A little lower…" She instructed. The group steadily continued on, letting the slack of the rope slide through their fingers.

"Little more…"

Everyone watched the rope slide over the metal bar over the well. Kei quickly perked up and turned her head when she heard an unsettling creaking sound in front of her. Her eyes opened wide and she let out a loud "WAIT!" but it was cut short. The well pump suddenly broke off the wooden platform, the rope's slack went loose, and they lost control. A loud cry echoed through the well and the group became frantic. Shane dove after the pump and missed, but T-dog managed to recover it and clung to it with all his might.  
Kei latched onto the rope with Lori and the two tried to hold on for dear life. She clenched her teeth and pulled back, but the weight of the pump threatened to rip from T-Dog's grasp and send Glenn down to become Walker food. Kei jumped to her knees with the rope in her hand and grabbed onto the pump with T-Dog. The rest of the group followed and they all struggled to pull it up. Glenn's frantic cries for help made Kei's heart race a mile a minute. She couldn't tell if he was still alive and scared shitless, or currently being torn apart by that walker that was down there with him.

Slowly they pulled Glenn up. Kei and the others regained their footing and used whatever strength they had, making hasty progress as Glenn's frantic voice became clearer and clearer,

"Glenn!" Lori cried out.

"Come on pull him up, pull him up!" Shane shouted.

Kei saw Glenn's hands grab onto the metal bar above him. She and Shane ran up, each grabbing his arm and pulling him to safety. Kei collasped to her knees and Glenn sprawled out on the ground next to her. Everyone panted heavily from fear and adrenaline,

"Are you okay?!" Andrea asked frantically, putting a hand on his shoulder, Lori knelt down next to him and the rest crowded around, checking to make sure he was alright. Kei stood to her feet and stumbled slightly, the shock and relief of it all hitting her like a tidal wave.

"I guess its back to the drawing board…" Dale sighed with a shake of his head.

Glenn slowly got up to his feet, panting heavily with the rope in his hand in accomplishment,

"Says you," He breathed.

He handed the rope to Dale and walked off, leaving the old man to stare at it in confusion. He felt a hard tug on the rope and gripped it tightly as the Walker below thrashed around wildly like a fish on a hook. Everyone rushed over and stared down the well, seeing the bulbous creature tied up and ready to come out. Through all that chaos, Glenn had managed to get the rope tied around the Walker's body.

Shane took hold of the rope and began to yank at it. The others took position behind him and pulled back hard. It was a lot heavier than Glenn and the pump, so it took every ounce of energy that Kei and the others had. The rope barely moved and inch before they gave up quickly.

"This isn't going to work…" Lori sighed while rubbing her forehead. Everyone turned to Maggie as she frowned at the well.

"I know something that might…."

"Alright, lets try again!"

The group pulled again as Kei and Maggie tugged on the horses reins.

"Come on guys, keep pullin!" T-Dog shouted from the sidelines.

"Come on ya'll, almost there!" Shane yelled.

The grunts and pants from the everyone flooded the air as they struggled to pry the walker out.

"Come on ya'll, all together!" Shane shouted out. With one last heave, the Walker's body rose up from the darkness of the well and spilled over the stony edge. The massive creature hissed and grabbed at T-Dog. The man jumped back to avoid its bloated fingers. The creature gurgled and hissed as the rope tugged more and more at its bulbous torso.

"Almost there, keep it comin!" T-Dog yelled.

The group heaved with all the strength they had, but the Walker's body didn't budge.

"What's going on!?" Glenn shouted through clenched teeth.

"It's stuck!" Maggie called out.

As they continued to tug and pull, the walker began to cry out with exasperating gasping and growling, it's arms flailing every which way.

"Pull!"

The group gave one last heave and the rope suddenly went slack, sending Lori, Andrea, Shane, and Glenn crashing to the ground. Kei turned and looked over the see only half of the Walker clamoring on the surface. The sound of the other half splashing into the water echoed out from inside the well.  
The corpse's arms stretched out in attempt to grab and eat anyone who had gotten close. Kei walked over and stood next to Glenn as they watched it, the putrid stench of blood and molded guts filling their noses.

"We're gonna have to seal off this well…" Dale sighed, putting his hands on his hips in disappointment. Shane nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… that might be a good idea,"

"So what do we do about—"

Before Andrea could finish her sentence, T-Dog had grabbed the pump handle and started to beat the Walker's head in. Everyone except Maggie stood by and watched, already being used to such a brutal image. All of them flinched as the sound of bones cracking and blood spurting out rang in the air. T-Dog panted and looked back at Andrea,

"Good thing we didn't do anythin stupid like shoot it…"

The rest of them watched as he threw the handle to the ground and walked away.

Kei limped back to camp slowly behind the rest of the group. She was incredibly exhausted and her feet were starting to hurt as she had made her way back. The wound on her right leg began to ache a little as well. So much for Hershel's orders.

Kei knew that she had to take it easy with the injury. Her mind told her to rest, but her heart told her to do what she could to help this group. And so, she decided to help out and try to hunt for some meat—either squirrel or rabbit, deer if she was lucky.

She grabbed her bow and quiver from her bag and prepared to set out, but as she stepped off the porch she noticed a familiar face and stopped.

Daryl had returned from the search, walking over to the Winnebago and opening the door. Before he disappeared, she noticed a beer bottle in his hand, a white flower sticking out at the top. She knew that Carol was in the Winnebago and noticed lately that Daryl was closest to her than anyone in the group. She could tell he felt for her and the situation she was in. When a young adult with an abusive past met another person that had encountered problems in which the other had experienced before, they tended to grow a close relationship with each other. Not in the romantic way, no, but in a sort of kindred way. They were drawn to each other like magnets. He must have gone through the same hellish experience. The hunter had felt sympathetic to the woman who had lost her husband, and now her little girl.

"So, that's what he meant when he said that everyone had been through enough," She thought.

She looked to the dirft floor before looking forward and letting out a sharp whistle. She then limped off to the woods with Ren and Ame following suit.


End file.
